Krashen’s bold statement that language acquisition is an unconscious process is at the core of all we do in comprehensible input, and yet we forget that. But the fact is that we learn languages unconsciously, as per:
https://benslavic.com/blog/2008/08/28/ci-oceanic-stuff/
https://benslavic.com/blog/2010/07/18/we-learn-languages-unconsciously-1/
https://benslavic.com/blog/2010/07/19/we-learn-languages-unconsciously/
SLOW is the principle vehicle for driving the learning into the unconscious mind. Why and how? SLOW causes the affective filter to drop, which, if that doesn’t occur, the conscious mind takes over, nervous, trying to find some way out of the stress generated by being in classroom where it can’t understand.
The faster the teacher goes with the CI, the higher goes the affective filter, and the more the conscious mind grips the proceedings – feeling less and less capable to actually function in class and thus more and more distant from the class process, afraid to let go and just take in the language.
Another factor that drives the learning into the unconscious mind is the conscious effort by the instructor to include the kid in the group. As the web of connectedness grows greater to include everybody, and trust is there, the conscious mind relaxes, thus allowing more unconscious absorption of the language as when SLOW is present.
When we go slowly enough to include all of our students, an unconscious web of a beautiful kind of understanding is spun between all the minds in the room. The language connects the people. How do we know? We FEEL it. We go slowly enough and all people in the room get in on this pleasant feeling of focusing with others on messages instead of the vehicle for their delivery.
The purpose of SLOW, therefore, is to turn the shared process of language acquisition over to the unconscious mind. As the people are connected in the shared learning because they count as human beings in the classroom process and because they understand, due to SLOW, there is success for all, not just the few. Those two things, personalized slow instruction in the target language for the first few months of the year, with constant pointing to the rules, will bring the good stories later.